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You could excuse Oliver Glasner for preferring to enjoy a quiet period with his family in Austria ahead of Christmas, instead of preparing for Crystal Palace's twenty-ninth match of the campaign—a Carabao Cup quarter-final with Arsenal. However, the notion that Palace could focus on other competitions was swiftly dismissed by their head coach.

"Absolutely not, I do not believe that," remarked Glasner following his team's side's 4-1 defeat to Leeds. "Should somebody tells me that we lose on purpose, the next day I'm not the coach anymore."

There exists a clear difference in Glasner's philosophy to domestic cup competitions relative to his predecessor, Roy Hodgson. This initially became clear during Palace's journey to the League Cup quarter-finals in his first full season in charge. Under Hodgson, the club had already been knocked out from both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup when Glasner assumed control at Selhurst Park. In contrast, Glasner fielded his strongest side for wins over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a meeting with Arsenal.

That prior quarter-final tie ended in a three-two defeat at the Emirates Stadium, thanks to a somewhat controversial hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, despite Palace having been ahead at the interval. Almost exactly twelve months later, Glasner must devise a strategy for payback against the current Premier League pace-setters in a fixture that was rescheduled to this week because of European commitments.

The Price of Success and Continental Exhaustion

Glasner has, in a way, been a victim of his own success. Leading Palace to their maiden major trophy with victory in the FA Cup final has ushered in the rigors of European football for the first time. These demands are taking a toll on some weary players, many of whom have barely had a rest all season.

The manager selected an completely changed side, featuring four youngsters, in their last Conference League fixture. However, ahead of the Arsenal clash, he conceded he will have "little choice" but to pick the majority of his preferred side, which looked decidedly lethargic as they unusually let in four goals from set-pieces against Leeds. "Have to. Yes, have to," he stated.

The Gunners' Perspective and Team Dilemmas

For Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the situation are distinct. The boss must juggle his desire to win a another major trophy with extreme practicality. The previous season, a muscle injury to Bukayo Saka sustained in a league game against Palace just days after their Carabao Cup comeback significantly harmed their title hopes.

Arteta had implemented a number of changes for that League Cup match but was compelled to bring on his "big-hitters" following the break. Saka was introduced from the bench to assist Jesus for a decisive goal in a move that left Glasner "furious" over a potential offside, with no VAR in operation—a scenario that will be the case again on Tuesday.

Arsenal are on an eight-game winning streak against Palace, including seven victories. Gabriel Jesus, who scored a hat-trick in last season's League Cup encounter and a brace in a later league win before suffering a long-term knee injury, is expected to begin for the first time since that setback. Arteta revealed the forward wrote a "touching" letter to his teammates about what football means to him.

"We are used to it," said Arteta on the busy fixture list. "I think this week was the only full week we had to prepare. The rest until February at least is will be similar. We have a beautiful chance to go into the last four of a tournament so we will be ready."

With key players returning from injury and a determination to progress, Arsenal pose a formidable challenge for a Crystal Palace side desperately in need of a spark as the festive period ramps up.